Don Polson - The way I see it: Shedding more light on America's guns

If firearms and gun ownership are important to you, plan to attend some upcoming Tea Party Patriots meetings.

Tonight, Mr. Frank Caltabiano, a NRA Certified Instructor, owner of State of Jefferson Firearms Training and Tuscan Outdoors associate, will appear at the Westside Grange meeting at 6 PM.

Also, Sheriff Dave Hencratt will be present to answer questions on gun laws and ownership.

This Thursday, Congressman Doug LaMalfa will be speaking to the Corning Tea Party Patriots, 6 p.m. at the Corning Senior Center, 1015 Fourth Ave.

It'll be worth your time to hear a first-hand account of Congressional goingson from someone who has never shied from straight talk on any topic.

Also, mark the following Thursday, the 28th, to hear Sam Paredes, from Gun Owners of California, address the Corning Tea Party.

An article titled "The 2nd Amendment Is What Makes The Other Nine Possible," by Bill Flax at Forbes.com, admirably makes the case for gun ownership by responsible, lawful citizens.

Even those of us who are adamant on this issue can forget to marshal the most concise and persuasive argument available to us: The Second Amendment in its entirety.

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

The "militia" was not the National Guard or the standing army, let alone the various sheriffs or other constabularies charged to act in the interests of the state; such interests could well be usurped against the people's rights, freedom and even "the security of a free state."

While they all take oaths to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and their respective States, the true power resides in "the right of the people," which rights are retained by individuals against the government; Rights itemized, as well as those not listed.

Amendment IX states: "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

Leftists, such as Piers Morgan or writers on this page, mock and deride the very idea of hundreds of millions of guns in the hands of citizens being the ultimate bulwark against despotism, but such derision was not the attitude among the colonies seeking independence from the most powerful military in the world keeping them under England's yoke.

A You Tube made the rounds that included parts of a 1992 Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, "An American Story," based on historical events in Tennessee around the end of the Second World War.

Look up the "Battle of Athens (1946)" in Wikipedia.

After years of ever-more-onerous actions under color of authority, heavily corrupted law enforcement and elected officials took over ballot boxes containing the votes of citizens and thousands of returning veterans. Veterans had run a slate of GI Non-Partisan League candidates, seeking to end said corruption.

When deputies seized and removed the ballot boxes to the jail, citizen veterans demanded to independently count the votes.

From hundreds to two thousand armed citizens stormed the jail in a fight lasting hours, ending only when the entrance was blown open and the deputies surrendered and turned over the ballots.

The GI slate of candidates had indeed won but would have had their rights crushed without armaments to enforce their rights.

At a rally prior to the election, a GI speaker said, "The principles that we fought for in this past war do not exist in McMinn County.

We fought for democracy because we believe in democracy but not the form we live under in this county."

Freedom of the press, speech, religion and assembly resides, as does the right to bear arms, in the people, the citizens.

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights ? that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government ? most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

No reasonable, law-abiding citizen wishes to overthrow the government for frivolous causes; no one disputes that regulations may apply to the exercise of any of our rights, including lawful punishment and deprivation of liberty for crimes.

Citizens possessed armaments equal to the military in Revolutionary times, including cannons and explosives.

Currently, truly automatic "assault weapons," where bullets continue to fire while the trigger is pulled one time, are already illegal outside of the military.

Therefore, all other handguns, shotguns and long guns, no matter the size of the magazine, fire one round or shell with one trigger pull; they pose no threat to anyone unless in the hands of the deranged or criminals.

The rest of us have "God-given Rights" to defend ourselves and pursue legal hunting or sport shooting without the imposition of laws and regulations destined to be ignored by bad or insane people.

Look up Mr. Flax's article; he quotes John Lott's bestseller, "More Guns, Less Crime" which states that crime rates have tumbled as gun ownership has soared.